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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-09-2006 * WASHINGTON PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE October 9, 2006 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA. Committee members present were: Member Gene Cerino, Member Nancy Backus. Also present were Interim Planning, Building and Development Director David Osaki; City Attorney Dan Heid; Parks, Recreation and Arts Director Daryl Faber; Development Services Coordinator Steve Pilcher, Senior Planner Jeff Dixon, Economic Development Manager Dave Baron, Planner Bill Mandeville, Senior Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain and Planning, Building and Development Secretary Carolyn Brown. Public present: Mark Hinshaw, with LM Architects, Jeff Oliphant; Mark Hancock with Segale Corporation; and Jim Schack and Gary Venn with Utility Vault II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of the September 25, 2006 meeting. Member Cerino moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Member Backus second the motion. Member Backus stated on Page 6, the 6th paragraph, regarding a CD copy should include "one copy to staff for review" Motion approved unanimously. 3-0 III. ACTION A. Resolution No. 4102 - Puget Sound Energy Easement at Game Farm Park Parks, Arts and Recreation Director Faber stated this Resolution is a request for an expansion of existing easement so PSE can install an underground vault to accommodate the Sprint PCS wireless communications facility stored in an enclosed structure at Game Farm Park. The facility is currently using power from a generator that is very loud. Page 1 Plannina & Community Development Committee Minutes October 9. 2006 Member Cerino made the motion to forward Resolution No. 4102 to City Council for approval. Member Backus second. Motion approved unanimously. 3-0 B. Ordinance No. 6048 - Amendment to Ordinance No. 5979 correcting the legal description of Annexation 06-0002. Planner Mandeville stated this request is to correct a scrivener's error. Ordinance 5979 inadvertently included certain road right-of-way descriptions in the legal description. Ordinance No. 6048 removes the incorrect right-of-way Member Cerino made the motion to forward Ordinance No. 6048 to City Council for approval. Member Backus second. Motion approved unanimously. 3-0 IV. DISCUSSION Mr. Baron distributed the analysis of the Buxton study for the Committee to read and study. Mr. Baron noted that Buxton will come in with a final revised map and the retail pairings for Auburn. Chair Norman asked Mr. Baron to come back to the November 13 meeting and if anything in the study changes, please let the Committee know. A. Ordinance No. 6051 - Amending the ACC relating to powers and duties of the Mayor City Attorney Heid related the background for this Ordinance. A person recently passed away in the City and the family did not have the resources to take care of the funeral. So the question arose regarding whether the City has the power to provide funds to assist the poor with funeral arrangements. Washington State has a law that says cities can support the infirm and impoverished. Mr. Heid stated this Ordinance will allow the Mayor to provide city funds to the poor and infirm, at his discretion. Mr. Heid added there currently is nothing in City Code to allow the Mayor to help out without going to the full City Council. This Ordinance will allow the Mayor to utilize flexibility in this area for individuals qualifying for financial support. The Committee discussed whether the Mayor's authority should be limited to a specific amount, the draft does not contain any limitation or specific amount. The Committee feels comfortable with a $10,000 limit. Mr. Heid stated he will revise the Ordinance and return to it to the Finance Committee for their consideration. Page 2 Plannina & Community Development Committee Minutes October 9. 2006 B. Downtown Urban Center Zone/Design Standards Development Services Coordinator Steve Pilcher stated this matter is at the point where policy direction is needed. Mr. Pilcher reviewed with the Committee some of the ways other cities are regulating parking in their downtown areas. Mr. Pilcher noted that a variety of approaches are being used. Mr. Pilcher also discussed the FAR (floor area ratio) issue. Staff had examined Project Ace and one other conceptual project proposed for an entire city block to determine whether the fit within the FAR limits suggested in the draft Code. Both projects would be compliant. Mr. Pilcher stated that both street level retail and structured parking provide significant bonuses to a developer. Mr. Pilcher stated this would allow a developer a lot of flexibility designing a project. Mr. Pilcher also discussed the parking ratio per dwelling unit required and whether additional parking is possible. He noted the draft code allows a maximum of two stalls per unit. A bigger challenge for a developer would be to have an exclusively commercial project without residential component. The proposed regulations basically encourage parking structures and discourage surface parking lots, which he stated is appropriate for a downtown, pedestrian- friendly environment. Chair Norman asked Mr. Hinshaw about the time it takes to create this synergy in downtown and to see a change in demographics in the downtown core. She also noted there may be a gap between transit oriented development and retirees. Mr. Hinshaw stated a smaller city can't compare their area with downtown Seattle or Bellevue. The City of Auburn could look at communities the size of Kirkland or Edmunds. He added the numbers proposed for Auburn reflect the commuter influence and the numbers are sized for a medium sized community. The Committee discussed whether some blocks that would be better served as residential only and some commercial only and where a mixed use would not work. Mark Hinshaw discussed FAR and how it would weigh in favor of residential., however, it still encourages mixed use. Mr. Hinshaw added most urban centers want lot line to lot line buildings and don't want to waste the land on asphalt; parking should be within the building or under the building. Page 3 Plannina & Community Development Committee Minutes October 9.2006 The Committee discussed parking needed for events or restaurants on nights or weekends. The Committee discussed the desire of a larger type restaurant to want a lot of parking space and how a large parking area is a draw for patrons. The Committee discussed the various uses of other parking facilities. Also, people need to be able to find the parking lots. Chair Norman noted providing the right environment will encourage people to come downtown. Jeff Oliphant, 3700 Beazer Road, Bellingham spoke on the FAR and building downtown. Mr. Oliphant noted that at this time the City is focused on the FAR. He noted that the City already has a key asset downtown in the hospital, which is a major employer. Mr. Oliphant stated that if the City wants to have a decent size medical building, a developer will need to build up. However, the FAR standards limit the ability to do so. He also added that he is not sure that retail or residential makes sense in a medical building. Mr. Oliphant discussed the Truitt Building and other examples, such as the Justice Center, which he feels doesn't meet the FAR standards included in the draft regulations. Mr. Oliphant believes it is counterproductive to have the low FAR. Mr. Oliphant noted that Applebees Restaurant would not come to the City without a lot of parking. Some developments do not encourage allowing other businesses to park on their lots and some cities provide free parking structures that are subsidized. Mr. Oliphant also noted several other reasons, such as in the downtown area the lot sizes are too small to put in parking structures on an individual basis. Also, the soil is poor as it was originally a river bed, therefore, limits the potential to inexpensively build structured parking. Mr. Oliphant concluded by stating he is not sure if the City would need FARs as a 3 or 4 story building should be enough. He suggested simply using a maximum building height. Also, he added he is not sure the City would want residential next to the railroad or the hospital. Mr. Hinshaw stated that FAR is the language of the development sector and they want to know what they can achieve and what type of project they can build in a particular area. The Committee discussed the fact that the City is on a river bed, and in an earthquake zone. Pilings would have to be driven to put in the infrastructure for a 7 story building. Member Cerino also asked staff to come back with a scenario to develop a two story project on a non-housing project. Page 4 Plannina & Community Development Committee Minutes October 9. 2006 Mr. Hinshaw added the regulations are to provide guidelines and not force a developer into something he doesn't want. Mr. Hinshaw concluded by saying the point is to make public amenities happen. Chair Norman shared a newspaper article with the Committee, which was about retirees looking for walkable communities, etc. Chair Norman asked staff to process the new information heard tonight and come back to the first meeting in November. Staff was also directed to present the draft regulations to the Public Works Committee at their next meeting and requested to make a presentation of the "flyover" CD at the committee's next meeting. C. 2006 Comprehensive Plan Amendments - Ms. Chamberlain stated staff provided a summary matrix of the list of amendments. Ms. Chamberlain noted the Planning Commission held two public hearings, one in September and one the first week in October. Ms. Chamberlain asked if the Committee had any questions on the first 12 Comprehensive Plan Amendments that are city owned. The Committee had no questions. Ms. Chamberlain discussed Comprehensive Plan Map Amendments (CPM) for areas 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Planning Commission recommended approval on these five map amendments. Ms. Chamberlain continued with Area 18. She stated there was public testimony on Area 18, which is a warehouse behind Best Western off 8th Street SW. This area is currently light industrial and the recommended change is to heavy commercial. Ms. Chamberlain noted the Planning Commission recommended denial. Mr. Osaki provided the Committee with the Planning Commission's reasoning for denial as Area 18 is a relatively new development only 6-7 years old and fully occupied and was built as a warehouse distribution center with no visibility from C Street or 8th Street. Area 19, which is west of C Street SW to the railroad tracks and north of 15th Street SW is a mixture of current Public/Quasi-Public and Heavy Industrial designated land with a proposal to heavy commercial. Ms. Chamberlain noted the Planning Commission recommended denial. The Planning Commission's reasoning for denial is the lack of visibility from C Street SW and Highway 18. Ms. Chamberlain noted a representative of the Segale property owner spoke at the public hearing and is not in favor of the proposed map amendment. Page 5 Plannina & Community Development Committee Minutes October 9.2006 Area 20 on A Street SE is the location of the Utility Vault Company. Mr. Osaki noted the Planning Commission recommended denial based on testimony of the owner, which covered the long term ownership, substantial investment, commitment to the community, and long term prospect of owning the business. Area 21 on A Street SE is the auto auction, auto wrecking yard, vacant land, and other small businesses. Ms. Chamberlain noted the Planning Commission recommended denial. Also, this was based on the testimony of the auto auctions underlying property owner's representative, who discussed being long standing business that is not visible from A Street SE, with residential to the east that is screened with heavy vegetation. Area 22 is the Danner property off Oravetz Road SE near Auburn Riverside High school. Ms. Chamberlain noted the Planning Commission recommended denial. This site is not visible from A Street SE and access is an issue, creating more traffic on a dead end street. Area 23 is located just west of downtown near the West Auburn High School. This area includes the Waste Management facility. Ms. Chamberlain noted the Planning Commission recommended denial. A representative of Waste Management testified about the long term commitment, and the fact that the company recently purchased a new lot and is ready to expand. Area 24 is located south of the Skills Inc. property (Area 16) off of I Street NE and 30th Street NE. The current land use designation of Public/Quasi-Public reflects a previous plan of housing a fire station at this site. That is no longer an option. This property is already zoned C-3 but bringing the Comp Plan into line with the zoning. Area 25, the area bounded by A Street SE to B Street SE and 8th Street SE to 17th Street SE was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission. The current land use designation is Heavy Commercial along A Street SE and Moderate Density Residential within the interior of Area 25. The recommendation is to Light Commercial. Ms. Chamberlain reviewed Policy/Text Amendments (P/T) 1-4, which adopted the capital facilities plan of the four school districts that serve the City of Auburn. PIT #5 is the City's capital facilities plan. Planning Commission recommended approval on PIT #1-5. Ms. Chamberlain stated PIT 6 are the miscellaneous text amendments to various chapters of the comprehensive plan, which includes the transportation plan. The Planning Commission recommendation is pending as the public hearing was continued to October 24, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. Page 6 Plannina & Community Development Committee Minutes October 9. 2006 Member Cerino asked when the City will incorporate these into the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Chamberlain stated staff will finish the last public hearing and then do a more in depth presentation to Committee and to full Council at the first meeting in December. Mr. Osaki stated staff will bring back the comprehensive plan amendments to the Planning and Community Development Committee at the end of October. V. INFORMATION A. PCDC Status Matrix Chair Norman noted the presentation about Olson Farm, will either be on the October 23rd or the November 13th agenda. She asked that Mayor Pro Tem Singer be invited to the meeting when this item is scheduled. Dave Baron will do the Buxton presentation on November 13, 2006 VI. OLD BUSINESS Chair Norman stated she is surprised at the number of electronic signs on Auburn Way N. She would like the Committee to obtain information on the sign code regarding electronic signs. Chair Norman noted that Councilmember Wagner brought up a point about storing different kind of materials on industrial properties. Chair Norman requested that this be added to the matrix VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning and Community Development Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 6:54 p.m. APPROVED THE dJr!:. DAY OF ~~b. ! ~~ Carolyn Brown, Secretary Page 7